If you’ve ever seen a baby born en caul, or born entirely within its amniotic sac, you know what a special phenomenon it is. The incredible sight is extremely rare, occurring in about only 1 of every 80,000 births.
Actor Mahershala Ali, who won an Oscar this week for his performance in the film “Moonlight,” told Entertainment Tonight that his and his wife’s baby, who was born in February, was born en caul.
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“The baby was literally almost out…she came out in a clear bag,” Ali said in the interview. “And I’m going, ‘Wow, they come brand new.’ She was in the sac — it was incredible.”
According to Dr. Donnica Moore, a women’s health expert and advocate, a baby born en caul is extremely rare in vaginal births.
An en caul birth is when the baby is delivered completely encased in the amniotic sac — the thin protective membrane which covers them in the womb,” Moore told TODAY Parents. “In vaginal births, it is a very rare occurrence, so many obstetricians haven’t seen one.”
Rare as they are, en caul births are harmless and simply means that the ambriotic sac, which is filled with fluid that protects the baby during pregnancy, never ruptured as it normally does right before birth (aka the “water breaking” symbol that the mother is about to go into labor).
“Babies aren’t harmed or at any increased risk from an en caul delivery,” Moore explained, “The membranes protect the baby from birth trauma.”
Leilani Rogers, a Texas birth photographer, captured an en caul birth recently.
“It was only the 3rd or 4th photo out of my camera and it happened so fast I didn’t even see it with my own eyes,” Rogers told TODAY Parents. “Once I had a chance to scroll back through and see what I had captured, I was just in awe — such a rare and magical moment.”
Another birth photographer captured an en caul birth last year during an unassisted, at-home twin water birth and submitted the photo to a photo contest hosted by the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers, where it won best in category for delivery.
In the amazing photo, the first baby was safely delivered into mom’s arms, while we can see the second baby enveloped in its amniotic sac underwater.
Normally, the amniotic sac remains in the mother as part of the placenta (and is delivered later as part of the afterbirth), since it is normally connected to the placenta and helps the baby breathe. So if the baby is born en caul, as long as the membrane of the amniotic sac is ruptured quickly so that the baby can breathe, new mom and dads have nothing to worry about.
